Marked by My Enemy Alpha

Chapter 15 – The Alpha’s Weakness

The moment Kael’s body went still in her arms, Aria’s world shattered.

His breathing was faint, shallow, like the darkness was swallowing him from the inside. She looked at Rylan with wide, desperate eyes.

“Help me!”

Rylan dropped to his knees beside them, pressing his palm over Kael’s chest. His mark flickered, pulsing weakly. “He’s fighting the curse. The Blood Luna is feeding on his strength.”

“Then take it from him—take it and put it in me!”

Rylan’s head snapped up. “You don’t understand what you’re asking, Aria. It’ll destroy you.”

“I don’t care!” she cried, clutching Kael’s face. “I won’t let him die because of me!”

For a heartbeat, silence hung between them. Then Rylan gritted his teeth, muttered an incantation in the old tongue, and pressed his glowing hand to hers. Energy surged through the air, burning bright and wild. The ground trembled.

Aria gasped as a shock tore through her chest—pain and power, heat and ice. Kael’s body convulsed once, then went still again. When the light faded, she collapsed beside him, trembling.

Rylan’s voice was a whisper. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

But Kael’s breathing steadied. Faint, but alive.

Aria smiled weakly. “Then it was worth it.”

⸻

By the time they reached the packhouse, the moon was fading into dawn. Warriors moved aside as Rylan carried Kael inside. The pack could feel it—the tension, the power, the fear.

“Take him to the healer’s chamber,” Aria ordered. Her voice didn’t shake, even though her hands did.

The healer, old Maeve, gasped when she saw Kael’s mark. “This is beyond me, child. The Blood Luna runs deeper than any healing I know.”

“Then find someone who can,” Aria said coldly. “Because I’m not losing him.”

Maeve hesitated. “There may be one—a witch from the Northern Ridge. But she’s… dangerous.”

Aria’s jaw tightened. “Then she’s exactly who I need.”

Rylan stepped closer, his tone low. “You’re walking into a trap if you go there. She serves the Dark Circle. They’ll use you.”

“Then they’ll regret it.”

Her eyes burned gold for a moment, the wolf inside her rising. She turned back to Kael, brushed a lock of hair from his forehead, and whispered, “I’ll bring you back. No matter what it takes.”

Rylan watched her, something unreadable flickering behind his silver eyes. “You’re stronger than you know, Aria. But strength like that always has a price.”

She didn’t answer. She already knew.